Florida and South Carolina (another state that moved up its primary and got its knuckles rapped) are staying out at the Innisbrook golf resort, near Tarpon Springs.

Innisbrook is lovely golf-community resort, where emerald-green fairways and picturesque pools surround villas that still have the '70s look they had when built — as if Mike Brady designed them himself using a diverse palette of dark browns, light browns and tan.

This is the home to the Florida delegation this week. And every morning, delegates gather in the Inverness Hall for "Fresh From Florida" breakfasts hosted by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam — sponsored by companies such as Mosaic fertilizer, which want to be in Putnam's good graces.

Monday morning's special guest was South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Haley told delegates that the country needed them, which they liked. She told them that Florida could very well decide the election, which made them cheer. And she told them that one of the worst things about Barack Obama is that he wants American businesses to be "ashamed" of their success, which made them groan in unhappy agreement.

Haley didn't want to go out on a groan. So she cracked a few jokes about how she wears high heels for kicking the tails of the opposing party, and everyone smiled again and drank their juice.

The goal of these breakfasts — of the whole week, in fact — is to get folks fired up.

That's why Jerry Buchanan has been attending conventions for two decades.

Buchanan is an 84-year-old grandmother who has served as a delegate, an alternate and, this year, an official guest.

If you've ever watched a convention on TV and wondered who all those people dancing around and wearing funny hats are, they are people like Buchanan.

Well, except for the hat part. "It takes me too long to get my hair fixed to go messing it up with a hat," she explained. "But I do like to dance. Especially if they have a band."

I've known Buchanan for years. She's one of the sweetest and most polite women you'll ever hope to meet.

But don't let the grandmotherly exterior fool you. Inside is a hard-core politico — a woman who despises ACORN, has personal relationships with the Bush family and crunches precinct data in her spare time.

Unlike many of the delegates for both parties, Buchanan gets no money or gain through her involvement. She's involved simply because she cares.

Asked why she's so passionate about Republican politics, Buchanan harkened back to her childhood in Tennessee. There, her father used to fume whenever government representatives walked into his dry-cleaning plant. Her father believed business worked best without intervention. And that stuck with Buchanan, who worked in banking before she retired.

Still, Buchanan doesn't believe her party always has its act together. In fact, she admits that, like many Republicans, she bounced from one candidate to the next during the roller-coaster primary, when everyone from Herman Cain to Newt Gingrich had their moment.

But she likes Mitt Romney — especially now that he seems to have his footing.

What Buchanan wants Thursday night is for Romney to be bold. She wants him to stake out a clear vision and solid positions.

She wants Romney to give her something to dance about.

And something to think about on the long shuttle ride back to her room.

Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell is on the scene in Tampa this week, covering the Republican National convention. You can follow him on Twitter at @Scott_Maxwell, read his blog posts at OrlandoSentinel.com/takingnames, and see his columns in print and online each day.